Penguin Black Spine

Penguin Classics relaunch. That proud, impassioned soul, so ungovernable now that she has felt the sting of injustice' 'Medea', in which a spurned woman takes revenge upon her lover by...

Penguin Classics relaunch Of all the works of the man claimed by many as the father of modern philosophy, the MEDITATIONS, first published in 1641, must surely be Rene Descartes'...

Since its first publication in 1762, Of the Social Contract has shaped political thinking. Viewed by some as a revolutionary statement of democratic freedoms and by others as a precursor...

Aristotle's influential treatise on the way to win arguments With the emergence of democracy in the city-state of Athens in the years around 460 BC, public speaking became an essential...

C. P. Cavafy is one of the most singular and poignant voices of twentieth-century European poetry, conjuring a magical interior world through lyrical evocations of remembered passions, imagined monologues and...

St Ignatius' thoughts and work on Christian spirituality One of the key figures in Christian history, St. Ignatius of Loyola (c. 1491-1556) was a passionate and unique spiritual thinker and...

In his introduction, John Keegan discusses Churchill's historical methods and the extraordinary achievement of The Second World War. This volume also includes appendices, an index, maps and diagrams. Winston Churchill's...

The landmark novel that inspired Verdi's opera La Traviata, in a sparkling new translation "One of the greatest love stories of all time," according to Henry James,and the inspiration for...

A new collection of some of Cicero's greatest and most stirring speeches, translated by Siobhan McElduff Cicero (106-43BC) was the most brilliant orator in Classical history. Even one of the...

One of the great works of 19th century Realism, and one of Zola's best-known novels Set in the taverns of Paris, this is perhaps the first classical tragedy of working-class...

Translated by Sylvia Raphael, this edition fully captures the wit and elegance of the original stories One of the greatest French novelists, Balzac was also an accomplished writer of shorter...

douard Glissant's most celebrated, scintillating philosophical work - which sets out a new poetic vision for the world 'We cry our cry of poetry. Our boats are open, and we...

Part of a series of new editions of DH Lawrence's most famous novels, stories and poems Constance Chatterley feels trapped in her sexless marriage to the invalid Sir Clifford. Unable...

Jules Verne's pioneering science fiction classic tells the story of the distinguished but eccentric Professor Lidenbrock, who finds a scrap of parchment in an old manuscript. A cipher written in...

One of George Eliot's most ambitious and imaginative novels and the one she thought her best One of George Eliot's most ambitious and imaginative novels, Romola is set in Renaissance...

Goethe's famous account of his time and travels in Italy In 1786, when he was already the acknowledged leader of the Sturm und Drang literary movement, Goethe set out on...

Available for the first time in Black Classics Georges Perec produced some of the most entertaining and spirited essays of his age. His literary output was amazingly varied in form...

The 'invigorating', 'stupendous' and 'exhilarating' guide (Observer) to the beguiling form which has attracted many of our most beloved writers 'It is hard to know how it could possibly be...

For the bicentennial of its first publication, Mary Shelley's original 1818 text, introduced by National Book Critics Circle award-winner Charlotte Gordon. Mary Shelley's classic novel, presented in its original 1818...

A vivid and richly anecdotal portrait of Spartan society. Plutarch's vivid and engaging portraits of the Spartans and their customs are a major source of our knowledge about the rise...

A moving reimagining of the man at the heart of Operation Mincemeat, brilliantly told by the celebrated wartime statesman, historian and author William Maryngton has one dream in life- to...

Jhumpa Lahiri's rich and varied selection of the greatest Italian writing of the twentieth century, now a Penguin Classics paperback This landmark collection brings together forty writers that reflect over...

Penguin Classics relaunch A terrifying encounter with an escaped convict in a graveyard on the wild Kent marshes; a summons to meet the bitter, decaying Miss Havisham and her beautiful,...

A radical exploration of the dangers associated with speculative capitalism, this is a fascinating satire about a society on the verge of moral bankruptcy. Augustus Melmotte is a fraudulent foreign...

Timaeus and Critias has a central place in Western thought and is best known to many for the story of Atlantis Timaeus and Critias is a Socratic dialogue in two...

Two of Nietzsche's final and most devastating works 'Twilight of the Idols', an attack on all the prevalent ideas of his time, offers a lightning tour of his whole philosophy....

Translated with an introduction by Alstair Hannay Writing under the pseudonym of Johannes de silentio, Kierkegaard uses the form of a dialectical lyric to present his conception of faith. Abraham...

A spectacular verse translation of one the most foundational texts in world literature Beowulf is the greatest surviving work of literature in Old English, unparalleled in its epic grandeur and...

Tolstoy's controversial treatise on the purpose of Art During his decades of world fame as a novelist, Tolstoy also wrote prolifically in a series of essays and polemics on issues...

Penguin Classics relaunch 'Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains' These are the famous opening words of a treatise that has not ceased to stir vigorous debate...

Penguin Classics relaunch. Virgil's Aeneid, inspired by Homer and inspiration for Dante and Milton, is an immortal poem at the heart of Western life and culture. Virgil took as his...

An enchanting collection of the very best of Russian poetry, edited by acclaimed translator Robert Chandler In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, poetry's pre-eminence in Russia was unchallenged,...

First complete translation into English of 'Maximem und Reflexionen' Throughout his long, hectic and astonishingly varied life, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) would jot down his passing thoughts on theatre...

A new collection of Pushkin's great narrative and lyric verse, translated by Antony Wood WINNER OF THE READ RUSSIA PRIZE 2020 Alexander Pushkin established what we know as Russian literature....

A key work of ancient Chinese philosophy is brought back to life in Ian Johnston's compelling, definitive translation Very little is known about Master Mo, or the school he founded....

This edition includes a list of suggestions for further reading, a glossary of important philosophical words and phrases, notes Exploring the question of what exactly makes good people good, Protagoras...

Part of the authoritative and acclaimed Penguin Shakespeare series, now rejacketed in the celebrated Penguin Classics livery A storm rages. Prospero and his daughter watch from their desert island as...

Holmes at his finest; this is a brilliant tale featuring romance, hidden treasure, and a one-legged ruffian. As a dense yellow fog swirls through the streets of London, a deep...

A revelatory and richly varied collection of Korea's greatest short stories This eclectic, moving and wonderfully enjoyable collection is the essential introduction to Korean literature. Journeying through Korea's dramatic twentieth...

Revised edition The master of ancient Greek comic drama, Aristophanes combined slapstick, humour and cheerful vulgarity with acute political observations. In The Frogs, written during the Peloponnesian War, Dionysus descends...

A new translation of this ever-popular adventure story, featuring an introduction by Brian Aldiss One night in the reform club, Phileas Fogg bets his companions that he can travel across...

New edition of one of the most powerful of the Icelandic prose sagas Written in the thirteenth century, Njal's Saga is a story that explores perennial human problems-from failed marriages...

Books VI - X of Livy's monumental History of Rome Books VI-X of Livy's monumental work trace Rome's fortunes from its near collapse after defeat by the Gauls in 386...

A selection of Seneca's most powerful and macabre plays Based on the legends used in Greek drama, Seneca's plays are notable for the exuberant ruthlessness with which disastrous events are...

A definitive new collection of Marlowe's plays with a critical introduction by Frank Romany containing- 'Dido Queen of Carthage', 'Tamburlaine the Great Parts One and Two', 'The Jew of Malta',...

Penguin Classics relaunch Wilde was both a glittering wordsmith and a social outsider. His drama emerges out of these two perhaps contradictory identities, combining epigrammatic brilliance and shrewd social observation....

An intimate and revealing insight into the mind and heart of a Japanese lady-in-waiting. The Diary recorded by Lady Murasaki (c. 973-c. 1020), author of The Tale of Genji, is...

Born in Newgate prison and abandoned six months later, Moll's drive to find and hold on to a secure place in society propels her through incest, adultery, bigamy, prostitution and...